


Big Brother

by TourmalineQueen



Category: Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed Bro'Hood
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Family Fluff, Gen, M/M, animal abuse & rescue, friendship-fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-28
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 13:56:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1390231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TourmalineQueen/pseuds/TourmalineQueen





	Big Brother

Disclaimer: Ubi's toys, I just play, no profits, etc.

*-*-*

Ezio was strolling with Leonardo through the recently liberated Circo Massimo region, enjoying the rare moment of peace and quiet. Ezio relished the chance to actually talk with his friend, who had been so paranoid about evading the Borgia guards that their meetings had been utterly clandestine, and totally business-oriented. It was nice to simply chat about such things as the weather, or Leo's latest paintings or Ezio's problems with his sister, Claudia.

"I really don't know what to do with her, amico," Ezio said, shaking his head. "She wants to be an Assassin, part of the war against the Borgia, but..."

"But you wish to protect her, keep her safe?" Leonardo asked shrewdly.

Ezio gave a single nod.

"Like you could not protect your father and brothers?" Leonardo asked kindly.

Ezio flinched but said nothing to contradict his friend. Leonardo slid his arm about Ezio's neck comfortingly.

"Mi dispiace, Ezio," Leonardo said with a sad smile.

Ezio gave a little shrug. "It's fine. It's perfectly true, though. I do want to keep her safe. I'm not entirely pleased that she works at the Rosa In Fiore, and... I know I could not truly prevent her from taking the Leap and becoming an Assassin, but..."

"Capisco, Ezio. It is difficult not to see the little girl you grew up with - and you do still tower over her, do you not?" Leonardo teased.

"I tower over everybody, save for you and the Papal Guards," Ezio chuckled, winking at his oldest friend. His smile faded. "But how can I keep her safe in this life? She insists that she does not need protection."

"Perhaps she can protect herself, Ezio," Leonardo pointed out, "she is, after all, an Auditore."

The sound of a cracking whip and a horse's scream cut through the birdsong and quiet chatter of the local people. Ezio ran to the nearby Assassin's Guild Pigeon coop and scaled it, turning to seek the source of the disturbance. The horse screamed shrilly a second time, and Leonardo and Ezio could hear swearing, too.

"The hill!" Ezio shouted to Leonardo and started sprinting towards the trouble. Leonardo followed more slowly, feeling cautious lest the Borgia guards take note of his appearance.

By the time Ezio had arrived the poor horse was still crying out in pain, but the man with the whip was already arguing with -

"Claudi _aaaa_ ," Ezio groaned softly to himself, instantly reverting to irritable brother rather than skilled Assassin.

"You idiota! That poor horse is far too slight for that load! Stronzo! You are a fool and a cruel one, too!" Claudia was berating the guy at top volume, slapping him with her closed fan.

The man was bellowing incoherently at the top of his voice right back at her, using his size to try to intimidate her. Ezio grinned slowly and stood back to watch his little sister hand the man his ass back to him.

Claudia Auditore had grown up with two physically bigger elder brothers - no man that reached only as high as Ezio's shoulders could intimidate her, even if he outweighed her by four or five stone. And she knew all the places to hit a guy to make it _hurt_. So far she was sticking to the subtlest method of getting her way - screaming at the top of her lungs. The guy probably wasn't foul enough to require actually drawing a weapon.

Ezio shook his head in amusement and silently made his way over to the overladen horse, that was still shying and whinnying in distress. It had been harnessed to a huge cart, packed with all manner of heavy crates. The poor creature itself also had some large bags attached to the harness. The creature was a fine-boned chestnut palfrey, far too light a creature for all the weight it was being forced to carry.

Ezio rolled his eyes. "Pezza di merda," he muttered. "Even a destrier would have a hard time dragging all that uphill. Aspetta, aspetta, bella donna," Ezio crooned to the terrified animal. He stroked the horse's sweaty sides gently, murmuring softly and soothingly. The horse was shaking, tossing her head anxiously.

Claudia, meanwhile was telling the creature's owner exactly what was wrong with him, his intelligence, his ancestry, his future progeny, and his horsemanship. The man ran out of patience, and reached out to slap Claudia's fan hand away. Claudia dodged back out of his reach glowering ferociously. She bared her teeth in a parody of a smile and settled into a warrior's crouch. The man gave a final enraged bellow and raised his whip.

Ezio, still out of sight of the two, saw red. Nobody threatens my little sister.

The carter moved to raise the whip only to find it stuck. Without looking, he tugged, and tugged again, but the length of the whip seemed to be caught in something.

"You would be a fool to raise a weapon to an Assassin," said Ezio, very calmly, very dangerously.

Without warning the man found himself dangling by the throat in the hand of a man almost the size of a Papal Guard. He gurgled and tried to twist in Ezio's implacable grip. Ezio bared his teeth in a parody of a smile identical to Claudia's. Ezio raised his other hand, holding the purloined whip, and snapped it's handle. The man swallowed hard.

"Ezio! Guards coming!" Leonardo shouted.

Ezio barely spared a glance in the direction his friend had called from. The man heard it, and renewed his struggles, kicking out and grunting in distress, hoping the Borgia soldiers would help him. Ezio simply threw the man away, to land in front of a nearby stables, ironically enough; and in a single fluid movement Ezio slashed the traces holding the horse in the cart and mounted up.

With a shrill, panicked whinny, the horse took off at top speed. A Cavallo guard saw this and gave chase, but Ezio and his fleet-footed new mount soon left him behind.

Claudia pouted and turned to Leonardo, who had come up behind her, ducking his head to avoid the crowd of guards.

"WHY did he not let me deal with that stronzo? I had it all under control!"

"Perhaps he dealt with him because you are his sorellina, and that man threatened you with a horsewhip?" Leonardo asked. "If I had a little sister who threw herself into danger at every opportunity, I know I would wish to protect her when the opportunity arose."

"Hmph. I suppose you may have a point. Maybe," Claudia said reluctantly. "Hey, what do you think Ezio will do with the horse?"

"The horse? I do not know, Claudia. Perhaps he will find a good owner for her."

"Her? How do you know she is a mare?" Claudia asked. "You barely saw her."

"I have made a study of equines," Leonardo said with a small chuckle. "Ezio helped me in Monteriggioni to make sketches. Do you not remember our long jaunts into Toscana when I stayed in the Villa?"

"Not as well as you do, obviously," Claudia rolled her eyes.

Leonardo chuckled. "Look, here he comes, back to us. Perhaps it might be nice to thank your brother for helping you - even though you did not need any assistance."

Again Claudia rolled her eyes. Ezio slowed the horse to a walk, and dismounted, grinning.

"She goes like the wind, but I think she strained her left foreleg, she was favouring it on hard ground," Ezio said as he regained his breath. "Claudia, did zio Mario teach you anything other than how to keep the books while I was away from the Villa? What do you think of her?"

Claudia gave the horse a once over. "I think she's beautiful! Once her foreleg heals, I think she'll go forever."

"Then she's yours. Every Assassin needs a good horse they can rely on," said Ezio simply.

Claudia's eyes widened and she gasped in delight, throwing her arms around her big brother. "Ezio! Thank you thank you thank you! I love her! I love you! Oh, thank you!"

"Claudi _aaaa_! Enough already!"

*-*-*


End file.
